Chandan/Sandalwood Seeds

Sandalwood, or Santalum album is an ancient species that is native to Indonesia, Philippines, and Western Australia.  By 1300 BCE, Sandalwood had become naturalized to South India. It is greatly valued for its fragrance and its religious importance.  Due to its high popularity, its wild populations are threatened.  Sandalwood trees are also hemiparasitic. This means, while they do perform photosynthesis, they do rely on other plants to capture certain nutrients and some water. In the case of Sandalwood, they need a nitrogen fixing plant to help them capture nitrogen as they grow.

Sandalwood is very difficult to germinate and is traditionally soaked in cow urine for 3 days prior to sowing.  Properly diluted botanical Urea pellets can be used for this purpose as well.  This is an essential step in Sandalwood germination. Some use gibberlic acid to increase germination success. Some have also been successful by soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours prior to sowing. Even with these preparations, seed germination is sporadic and can take anywhere between 4-12 weeks to germinate. Proper temperature and humidity is required during this period, which carefully monitoring for microbial growth, which can hinder germination. 

The scarcity and difficulty to care for, make Sandalwood very rare, especially outside of its native climates. 

Sandalwood is extremely difficult to germinate and care for. This item is for experienced gardeners who want to try their luck at a highly coveted, but difficult item. Due to limited quantities, absolutely no replacements will be considered for any reason.

Latin Name: Santalum album

Planting Guidance: Soil
Santalum album grows well in a variety of free-draining soils, including clay-loam, loam, sandy-loam, and loamy-sand. It prefers moderately acidic to slightly alkaline soils with a pH of 6.0–7.5, and moist soils like garden loam and well-drained deep alluvium. It doesn't grow well in black soil, calcareous situations, or on shallow stony and gravely soils.
Sunlight
Santalum album prefers full to partial sun exposure.
Host plants
Santalum album is a partial parasite that attaches to the roots of other trees, and needs "nurse" species in the area to survive long enough to be useful for oil production. Host plants that fix nitrogen and provide light shade are preferred, such as Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan), Kassod Tree (Senna siamea), or Drypetes lasiogyna. The tree's girth, height, and growth are much better with hosts.
Preparation
Before planting, plow the field until the soil is weed-free and has good tilth. Prepare the soil so that water can drain easily during heavy rains or floods.
Other considerations
Santalum album doesn't tolerate frost or waterlogging, and prolonged drought and fire can kill the trees. Birds are known to eat the fruit and disperse the seeds, which germinate easily.

Approx. Seed Count:

• N/A

Seed Treatment

Untreated

Genetics

Open Pollinated

Hindi Name: Chandan चन्दन

Marathi Name: Chandan चंदन

Gujrati Name:

Kannada Name: Chandana ಚಂದನ

Telugu Name: Srigandham శ్రీగంధం

Tamil Name: Chandanam சந்தனம்

Bengali Name: Chandan চন্দন

Malayalam Name: Chandanam ചന്ദനം